Opposites Attract
by Lily Sang
Summary: **Warning: Spoilers for DBZ!** Remember how in Dragon Ball Z vol. 12 there was this three year gap where everybody trained to defeat the androids, and when they got back, Bulma suddenly had a baby? And the father was Vegeta? This is my hopefully fun and entertaining attempt at explaining how the heck that happened. Updated regularaly on Tuesdays. Enjoy! -Lily
1. Discovery

_**Okay, so this is my first crack at Dragon Ball fanfic. I've been reading DBZ, (I'm completely addicted) and I found that a few of the relationships are severly under-developed. Especially Vegeta and Bulma's. I mean, why on earth are they even together in the first place? With that in mind, I set out to create a reason for them, to justify their complicated union. And this is the final product. I also have very, very little experience writing romance so... yeah. I think it's okay, though.**_

_**Please tell me what you think of it. I've tried really hard to get the induvidual characters' voices & choices right. And, of course, to make it interesting. But I should stop rambling, I'll let you decide for yourself what you think of it. Voilà!**_

Opposites Attract

Chapter One

Bulma walked out into her father's luxurious garden, sipping a glass of lemonade.

It was just over a year and a half since Freeza had come to earth, and the "prophecy" had been made.

She hadn't seen Son Goku, Piccolo or any of the others since they split up to do their seperate training. For all she knew, they could be dead.

_I wish they wouldn't keep leaving me behind, _she sighed, _What if I'm bored? Do they care? No. They've got no respect for a lady's feelings, they just go off and train and train and then train some more. Hmph._

She pulled out her sunglasses. It was a hot day, midsummer. The humid air was filled with the thick, sweet smell of her mother's various plants, some genetically enhanced, some not. Bulma looked for a lawn chair, wanting to just lie down and soak up the sun like a cat.

She looked adorable if she did say so herself, in crisp white shorts and a light pink tank-top, her long ponytail pulled through a white ballcap embroidered with her father's business logo, Capsule Corp. She wore a long white trenchcoat, specially designed to reflect heat. It was a real scorcher today.

Finding a chair in her favourite spot, in the middle of a patch of roses, she climbed onto it. Being in this place always made Bulma feel like she was in a cocoon, the tall bushes concealing everything from the outside world, the blue cloudless sky above. It was especially nice out today, the roses were in full bloom, and Bulma was already starting to feel relaxed and sleepy.

Yawning, she stretched out on the chair and folded her hands across her stomach. _Maybe I'll just rest my eyes for a few moments..._ she thought, basking in the sun. She didn't have anything that she needed to do, her friends were away and she was in need of some major R&R. She drifted off, not exactly sleeping but not awake either, in a sort of daze.

Suddenly, she was pulled out of her daydreams. A quiet rustling sound penetrated the still air.

There was somebody standing right in front of her. Trying not to scream, Bulma shielded her face from the glare of the sun as she squinted up at them.

Vegeta.

"Oh, it's you," he said, his tone of voice and expression bored. But his looks said something completely different.

Though he stood casually, legs apart and arms crossed, he looked like a wreck. His normally spiky hair drooped a bit and was matted with sweat, his shorts were ragged and dirty, his bare chest was cut and bruised, his face was pale and deep shadows lined his eyes. He was still wearing his usual indifferent expression, but Bulma could see that he was very, very tired.

"V-Vegeta?" Bulma squeaked out. "I- what're you doing here?" he shrugged, looking at her with contempt in his eyes.

"I was training. What's it to you?"

"What kind of training? You look awful,"

"So many questions, earthling," he said, "If you must know, I was preparing myself for the battle with the androids. Your father built a heavy-gravity chamber for me. Tell me, is there any of that special medicine of Kakarrot's here?" Bulma was confused for a second.

"Special- oh, you mean the _senzu _beans?" he nodded in confirmation. "No, only Karin Sen'nin has that. But we have hospitals here, what sort of care do you need?" he glowered.

"It's nothing. Just a broken rib or two. Get Karin to send some over. I don't have time to spare lying in bed for a month," Bulma blinked, a bit taken aback by his barking orders at her.

"Uh, okay, but-" and he was gone. Bulma stood there for a few seconds, stunned. Then, she shook her head, and with a huff returned to her chair. But she couldn't relax. What sort of training was he doing? Heavy gravity? _How _heavy?

Finally, she gave up. Hopping off her chair, she left the garden. The nerve of him! She was feeling completely relaxed for the first time in weeks, and he had to come in and spoil it all.

Then she stopped herself. Maybe that's why she and Yamcha were always fighting, maybe... maybe she was a selfish person. Could it be? Nah. No way. Nobody knew what she was going through.

She stomped back to her room, wanting to escape. But she remembered that she was supposed to get some _senzu _for Vegeta. Should she?

Well, it would give her something to do. But she didn't like the way that he just told her to do it, as if her saying no wasn't an option. Plus, he wasn't the most saintly of beings. But... he would probably be helpful in the coming battle, and Bulma was as against the destruction of Earth as the next person.

She spun on her heel, her decision made. She was going to find her father.

Bulma strode confidently down the hallways of the mansion/lab that she lived in, occasonally taking a turn or going down a flight of stairs. Finally, she came upon a plain, unmarked door.

Not bothering to knock, Bulma opened the door and stepped inside. Her father was at a table, his back turned to her. At the sound of her coming in, he jumped and shoved something behind a chunk of machinery on his desk.

He turned around to face her, a big smile on his face.

"Bulma! What brings you to my lab today, my dear?"

"What have you been eating?" Bulma asked, bluntly. His eyes widened.

"N- nothing, sweetie! What makes you say that?" Bulma crossed the room, ignoring her protesting father.

"You don't have a cigarette in your mouth," she said, rooting around his desk, "And you've got crumbs in your moustache. It doesn't take a genius to figure it out, even though I am one," she produced a plate with the half-eaten remains of a piece of cake on it. "Aha!" but then, as she looked at it, she gasped. "Is- is that the last piece of mom's poundcake?" she asked. Her father just shrugged his shoulders guiltily. "It is! She's gonna kill you. She was saving it for when we have company," he crossed his arms defensively.

"Yes, well, she'll make another one soon enough. I had an especially long and tiring day and..." he trailed off. "What were you here for again?" he said, irritably. Bulma sighed, deciding to drop it.

"Daddy, can you ask master Karin for some more _senzu_?" he smiled at her.

"Sure thing, hon! I'll just have a look at my schedule and..." he paused, glancing at a piece of paper. "Oh dear, looks like I'm completely booked for the next week or so. Can it wait?" Bulma considered. From the looks of it, Vegeta was going keep training. If he wasn't careful, he was going to kill himself.

"I don't think so. Maybe I could do it myself?" she asked. Her father consulted his paper again, muttering calculations to himself and scratching his head. Finally, he looked up.

"I don't see why not," he said. "I have a few minutes, I can radio that Yajirobe fellow and ask him to bring some over," Bulma smiled.

"That would be great, daddy, thanks," she kissed him on the cheek and ran off. It was nice to be doing something to help, even if it was giving magical healing beans to a cruel, power-hungry alien so he could go and beat himself up some more.

_What a world we live in,_ Bulma though to herself as she skipped through the building. She wasn't even particularly fond of the Saiyan, he had, in fact, threatened to kill her on more than one occasion, but she had no desire to cross him. She was actually a little afraid of him, to be honest.

Bulma decided to take a detour to her room. She had planned to go the the landing pad and meet Yajirobe, but she was feeling tired all of a sudden. _It won't hurt anybody if I take a little rest first,_ Bulma thought to herself, as she got to her room.

Once she was inside, she stripped down to her underwear and crawled between the covers. Aaaah. Thank god for air conditioning.

Exhausted, Bulma fell asleep almost instantly.

_**There's chapter one! Again, please drop a review with any comments, questions or criticisms. I hope you had as much fun reading it as I did writing it! So long, ~Lily**_


	2. Delivery

_**Hi again! I'm back with a new update.**_

_**So, before I say anything else, I'm going to be posting new chapters regularly on Tuesdays. Simple enough.**_

_**Okay, last chapter I made a TWO MISTAKES! Yes, I'm sorry. Two people pointed out that it isn't grammatically correct to say "Standed casually", and one of them also mentioned that, near the end, I wrote, "Bulam though" instead of "Bulma thought". Sorry. They have been fixed. I have a few more things to say, but I'll put the story first. Sha-ZAM!**_

Opposites Attract

Chapter Two

Bulma was harshly jolted awake by the door to her room bursting open.

"Eeek!" she squealed, pulling the blankets around her. Yajirobe was in her room, an impatient expression on his pudgy round face.

"Woulda' thought you were dead. Don'tcha have anything better to do than sleep the day away?"

"What are youdoing here?! Don't _you _have any respect for a lady's privacy? Out, out, OUT!" though he raised his hands in self-defence, he didn't leave right away.

"Y'think I want to be here? Here's the bleedin' _senzu_. 'Bye," he left a small leather pouch on a nearby shelf and scrambled out the door. Bulma lay there, seething.

"Well, fine!" she yelled after him. "I don't want you to be here, either!" Bulma had never liked him. He was too cowardly, too uncivilized. Too rude.

She hopped up from her bed and threw on her clothes. Despite being so unceremoniously jolted awake, she felt well-rested. Bulma grabbed the bag off her bookshelf, opened it, and peered inside. She'd actually never seen a _senzu _bean up close, just the effects they have.

Really, it was nothing impressive. Just a small pale yellow bean. But she knew that if you ate one of these, you'd be full for over a week. They also healed wounds and regained energy.

Shaking her head, she walked out the door. Unlike everybody else, she didn't have an appetite big enough to eat ten days' worth of food in one sitting and not explode. Plus, it would totally sabotage her diet.

She was just about to flag down a servant robot when her eyes landed on a window. It was dark out, stars were in the sky. How long had she been asleep for? Probably hours.

It was way too late to give Vegeta the _senzu, _which was just as well. Bulma wasn't looking forward to it. Plus, she didn't even know where to find him. She knew he was staying in her house, but, with the execption of today in the garden, she hadn't seen him since he had flown off to train years ago.

Suddenly, she remembered that she forgot her lemonade in the garden. She'd have to go back for it. A long time ago, when she was thirteen, she'd programmed all the robots not to go into her rose patch, no matter the circumstances, so she would have total privacy. It was okay, though. She loved the garden in the night almost more than in the daytime, the moonlight giving the whole place a slightly fairytale look, completed by the giant fountain and the dogs, cats and dinosaurs chasing each other around. Some of the plants were even bioluminescent, the edges of their leaves glowing softly.

It was beautiful.

Bulma almost didn't want to leave, and why not? Nobody would be looking for her, she had already slept a lot today so she wasn't tired, and taking a stroll through the moonlit garden sounded lovely.

She walked softly, fearing that the slightest sound would break the spell. She gradually found herself drifting back to her spot. Bulma scooped up her glass and left the rose patch. She whistled for a servant bot, and once it found her she handed off the glass to its steel fingertips.

Bulma looked up at the sky as the robot rolled off, feeling very small. Years ago, before Raditz had come to Earth, she had never really thought that there were other civilizations out there. Sure, it made sense in theory, but seeing all those stars, just far off twinkling white flecks of light, made it seem impossible.

Bulma was broken out of her reverie when a distant pounding noise started. Come to think of it, it had been happening on and off for the past while, but now it was definitely louder. Before, Bulma had ignored it, adding to the numerous list of unexplained noises that were always present here. But now it was loud enough that she was intrigued.

"What's that?" she wondered to herself. She started off towards it, her curiosity aroused. Bulma followed it out of the garden, to the building's left wing. This was where her father kept all his inventions that weren't available to the public. What could it be? A malfunctioning robot? Burglars? If so, they had to be the worst ones in the world. Nobody could make that much noise on purpose.

Bulma came to a door that she didn't recognize. Not surprising, considering how large the place was. There were a lot of empty rooms.

The door had a keycard slot. Bulma swiped her master card (one of the perks of being the boss's daughter) through it and it silently slid open. She stepped inside.

Or rather, tried to. There was some sort of force-field. What could be in this room? Bulma peered past the invisible barrier.

It was a simple room, the main thing of interest being a pillar in the center with panels bolted to it, keyboards and monitors fastened to those. Bulma knew that that was a generator, but for what? The force-field? She gave an experimental push, and found that if she used all her strength it gave the slightest bit. So, less of an invisible wall and more of an...

"Extremely powerful artificial gravity field," Bulma said, just as Vegeta stepped around the pillar. He didn't react at all to her being there, other than raising an eyebrow.

"Well?" he said, somewhat impatiently. He didn't look any better, if anything he seemed worse for the wear. His body was shiny with sweat, veins all over it were pulsating from exertion. He was panting heavily, his sides heaving.

"Huh?" Bulma replied eloquently. Then she realized that he was waiting for the _senzu. _But that was at the back of her mind. This "heavy gravity" was too heavy.

"The _senzu_. Now." he said, holding out his hand, which Bulma noticed was, almost imperceptively, trembling unsteadily.

This was worse than she thought. Vegeta, in his eternal quest for power, was pushing himself to total destruction.

"Only if you switch off the gravity," Bulma said, a bit surprised by her words. Both by her bravery and her concern. "You're going to kill yourself," he rolled his eyes.

"You do realize that I could just take them from you? It's not like you can stop me," Bulma shook her head.

"Not until you lower the gravity," she said. Vegeta sighed a little.

"...Fine. It's about time for me to take a break, anyway," he trudged to a monitor attached to the pillar structure and typed on a keyboard. The numbers flicked back down to normal gravity, but not before Bulma saw what they had been before. Her jaw dropped open.

"300 G?!" she screeched. Vegeta turned to her, giving her a cold stare.

"Yes. Not that it's any of your business,"

"That's enough to crush a person to death instantly! Are you _insane_?!" Vegeta growled.

"I don't need your sentiment," Bulma backed up, her feelings wounded. Vegeta snatched the bag of _senzu _out of her hands and ate one. Although it did nothing to change his looks, his breathing evened out and he stood straighter.

"Is beating Goku really so important?" Bulma asked softly. Vegeta shrugged casually, and she couldn't help but pay attention to his shoulders, the muscles rippling fluidly with the movement. Couldn't he wear a shirt?

"Surpassing Kakarrot is only part of it," he admitted. "... I don't want to die again," Bulma gasped, remembering what the kid from the future said. Vegeta was killed in the battle with the androids, along with the others. Only Son Gohan survived.

"Of course," she said. Vegeta walked over to the keyboard.

"Enough. You have ten seconds to leave before I increase this to 300 again," Bulma almost sighed. He never changed.

"Okay, but you should really rest once in a while. Saiyans sleep too, you know," ignoring her, Vegeta pressed a few keys. The air around Bulma thickened, and she began to feel heavier. Not putting anything past him, she scrambled out of the room before she got crushed like a bug.

_**And there you have it! Chapter two of Opposites Attract. Okay, first I want to thank everybody who reviewed, followed or even read this li'l story of mine. You guys rock!**_

_**Secondly, this story will last for five chapters. So I have three left to write and publish. Just a heads up.**_

_**Also, at first when I was reading stuff online about DBZ, I noticed that a lot of the names were different. I now know that those are names that the anime uses, but just for the record I'm going to write this story completly faithful to the manga. So here, Krillin is Kuririn and Frieza is Freeza. Tien is Tenshinhan, ect. I think that King Kai is Kaiô. Right? The Lord of the Worlds?**_

_**Oh yeah, and can anyone tell me why Vegeta's tail doesn't grow back after his fight with Goku and company? I mean, he specifically said that it'll grow back. And Goku's did, more than once.**_

_**Any questions that you have about this story, just PM me or write a review. If you don't have an account that I can reply to, I'll write the question and the answer in upcoming author's notes, okay? Okay. I'm getting to be a bit ramblily, so I'll have to sign off.**_

_**See you next Tuesday!**_

_**~Lily**_


	3. Damnation

_**Sorry, there were some technical difficulties and I couldn't access this chapter until an hour ago. But I got it as soon as I could, and here it is! Won't happen again. Also, I've finally finished DBZ! Amazing.**_

_**In this chapter, things start to get a little more interesting! But I'll stop blathering about this and just let you read it.**_

_**Ka-POW!**_

Opposites Attract

Chapter Three

A few uneventful days later, Bulma woke up in the middle of the night, thirsty. She stepped into a pair of fuzzy slippers next to her bed and shuffled to the bathroom to get a glass of water. Gulping it down, she closed her eyes and spun in a slow circle. A flash of movement caught her eye and she turned towards the huge glass window that lead to her balcony.

A shadow alighted gracefully onto a nearby rooftop, sillohuetted against the full moon. There was just enough light for Bulma to see the lean, muscular stature and the jet-black hair pointed to the sky. It was him.

Vegeta perched on the roof, hands folded, arms resting on his thighs and leaning forward, staring up at the sky.

He almost looked like a different person from the man she had seen just a few days ago, all the blood and sweat washed away. He wore a simple black bodysuit, though no armor. With the exhaustion gone from his face, he seemed years younger. But there was something else, too.

The expression on his face was almost... peaceful. His usual defiant smirk was missing, to be replaced with serenity. In fact, Bulma would say that he might have looked sad, if she didn't know any better.

And that's when it happened.

Bulma became aware of a strange feeling. Much like the booming sound of Vegeta training that never got past her subconscious, but different. A sort of ache in her chest. An ache that got stronger when she looked at Vegeta. And, all of a sudden, realization struck her, hard and cold across the face.

She liked him.

"Oh no," Bulma muttered, turning on her heel and beginning to pace. "Oh no, no, no. This is bad. This is very bad," but it was too late. She was starting to... to _care _about him. And that was a very dangerous thing to be doing.

For the first time, Bulma began to sympathize with him. Oh, Bulma knew that he had done some bad things. But that didn't nessecarily mean that he was _all _bad. Then she remembered that he had blasted his partner, Nappa, to pieces without batting an eye when he got defeated by Goku. He had decided, on a whim, to spare her and Kuririn's lives because he was in a good mood. How he had threatened to kill her at least three times.

But, even though her mind told her that there was no way this could end well, Bulma felt... drawn to him. She looked at him, sitting on the roof, and her heart sped up. Just being within sight of him made her feel nervous and jittery.

She traced the shape of his body with her eyes, drinking in the sight of him. His hair, a dark flame burning forever and always, his strong jawline, his legs, everything. He kept staring up at the moon, seemingly lost in thought. And Bulma wanted more.

Hardly aware of her actions, she slid open the window and stepped out onto the balcony. Wind swept past her, the hem of her satin nightgown flapping against her bare legs.

"Vegeta!" she whispered, the breeze taking the word from her lips.

Instantly, Vegeta whipped around faster than lightning, his eyes wide, face twisted in rage... and then he vanished.

"What-?" Bulma had scarcely turned her head to look for him when he appeared in front of her, out of thin air. He'd moved too fast for her to see.

He'd grown taller since they got back from Namek, before he was just bigger than Kuririn but now he was as tall as Bulma herself.

He was standing there, barely one and a half feet away, glaring dangerously. But that just made Bulma want him more.

"Er, hi," she said nervously, waving a little. Although, it was more like a spasm than a wave.

"What is it?" he snapped. And Bulma came to her senses. What on earth was she doing? This was stupid. She shouldn't have gotten out of bed. But she was here now, and it was up to Bulma to get herself out of this mess.

What happened? Was she in love with him? She stared at Vegeta, trying to make some sense out of all this. He was beautiful, even more so than before. The moonlight softened his sharp features and made him seem to almost glow. His dark hair was ruffled from the wind, a few hairs had blown loose and were settled around his face, fluttering in the breeze. Despite the speed that he'd moved, he was completely still, not out of breath at all. Bulma cleared her throat. She was getting distracted.

"Well, you see... the thing is..." right away, she knew she was in trouble. She couldn't exactly tell the truth. That she... felt things about him. Maybe not love, but there was definitely something. If there wasn't, she would be having an easier time resisting the urge to jump him. Looking at his handsome (yet growing more and more impatient) face, she knew she couldn't lie to him.

And before she could think of a million reasons why she shouldn't do this, she bridged the last few feet between them, flung her arms around his shoulders and pressed her lips to his.

Vegeta made a noise in the back of his throat, whether a squeak of shock, a growl of anger or a moan of pleasure, Bulma couldn't say. His arms found their way to her shoulders, either to push her away or pull her closer, but Bulma didn't wait to find out.

"Please," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "Just for tonight. It doesn't matter what what happens afterwards, but tonight... I _need_ you," Bulma wrapped her arms around his body, almost shaking with lust. She had never felt so vulnerable with someone, certainly not with Yamcha, and she wasn't sure that she liked it. But she couldn't help herself.

Vegeta sighed, but he didn't pull away. After what seemed like forever, he finally spoke.

"All right," he agreed, and he drew her to him, pinning her arms against his chest. Bulma shivered in delight at his touch, and crushed her mouth against his, kissing him as if her life depended on it. While she was at it, her hands slipped free and explored his back, stroked his cheek, slid into his hair. It was soft and warm from his body heat, it had an almost alien quality about it. The strands moved out of the way when her fingers got near to them, and gently curled around her hand when she moved, as if wanting her to stay. It was very unlike Vegeta.

Vegeta stayed completely still, just letting her do as she pleased, his arms solid as rock, locking her to him. His eyes closed, he returned the kiss, but slowly, with restraint. Also not like him at all. It was very strange.

Bulma shut her eyes tightly, wanting to block out any distractions. She gave all of her attention to Vegeta, immersing herself in him. She savoured the taste of him, which she couldn't describe. It was as alien as him, though for some reason it reminded Bulma of soil after a rainstorm. She concentrated on how he felt beneath her hands, the one cradling his lower back and the other still tangled in his hair, which happened to rival a cat's stomach in terms of softness.

She noticed that she had pushed Vegeta against the wall. She didn't want to stop. Bulma couldn't remember the last time she had felt this attracted to someone. Her heart hammered as if it would burst out of her chest with happiness at any moment. She wanted to go all the way with him.

Bulma had only had sex once before. Yamcha had been away training, and she had felt so bored and lonely that she went to a bar. It was with a man she had never met or seen since. It hadn't lived up to her expectations, not at all. But she had at least had the foresight to use a condom, so she didn't have a bastardized child on her hands.

Afterwards she had felt horrible; ashamed, regretful, _terribly _guilty. She couldn't even look Yamcha in the eye for weeks. And when she finally started working up the courage to tell him, she found out that he was sleeping with another woman. That sealed things, she had slapped him across the face and dumped him.

Bulma broke herself away from Vegeta long enough to open the sliding glass door. Leading him by the hand, she walked back to her room. Pulling the door shut, she kicked off her slippers. Bulma turned to Vegeta and smiled hesitantly, suddenly nervous. She took a few small steps forward.

"Is this okay?" she asked quietly, tugging a bit on the collar of his suit. Bulma did most of the talking with her eyes, looking at him hopefully, making her request clear. He stared her in the eye, the intensity of his gaze making Bulma blush a little and duck her head.

"Sure," he said nonchalantly, a smirk on his face. Vegeta obviously noticed her shyness.

Bulma couldn't help but note his not exactly enthusiastic response, but she didn't let it give her much pause. He didn't seem like the kind of guy to show things like that, anyway. Besides, he was sliding her nightgown off her shoulders while rubbing circles on her back, so she wasn't really thinking about things like that at the moment. Bulma grasped his upper arms to steady herself. She grinned at him, her nerves disappearing as quickly as they came. Once her dress was pooled around her bare feet, she returned the favour and helped Vegeta out of his bodysuit in much the same way he did to her, tracing the defined lines of his back.

And they did it. Bulma was completely overwhelmed with the sensation of it all, this was _eons _better than her one-night stand. No doubt about it, being with Vegeta was more incredible than Bulma could have dreamed, he seemed to be the lover from heaven. Although he didn't really do anything different than what Bulma had gotten from the stranger, there was something here that was missing before. It seemed almost like they were meant for each other, which was odd. After all, they weren't even the same species. At that point, Bulma turned off her brain and gave herself over to instinct.

Hours later, Bulma was curled up against Vegeta's warm chest in her bed. She giggled to herself, a bit giddy. She had just screwed Vegeta, the uncaring hot-tempered prince of the Saiyans!

"Heh... I guess you did do something naughty after all," Bulma yawned sleepily. Just as she was drifting off, Vegeta's voice came to her from the darkness.

"Whatever,"


	4. Deceit

_**Hello again! We are nearing the end of the story. I can't say how much fun it's been to write this, and I always look forward to the reviews/follows/favorites that I get. Okay, to be honest, I actually get excited when I see that new people have viewed it. Thank you all for supporting this little short story of mine!**_

_**Just a quick thing, last chapter someone had said that Bulma was too weak and desperate. I had actually sort of noticed that before I posted the chapter, so I apologize if it seemed that way. It should get better from now on, I had always thought that Vegeta was the easiest to write for, but I think that in this chapter Bulma seems more in character. Sorry for rambling on for so long, I'll just... **__**leave...**_

_**And now, I present to you... chapter four!**_

Chapter Four

Bulma resisted opening her eyes, pressing her face into the blankets. She didn't want to get up, but the sunlight streaming through the glass door was shining directly in her face. Even so, it was better than being woken up by an alarm clock, which was precisely why Bulma had a glass door in her room. It was one-way too, so nobody could see inside.

Groaning, she turned over, still half-asleep. Bulma was _not _a morning person. Stay up late having fun, sleep until noon, that was her style. And she remembered just how much fun she had last night.

"Holy shit!" she sat up, the memories flooding back into her head. She almost laughed out loud. Who would have thought? Her and Vegeta.

Were they dating now? Bulma scrunched her nose up at the thought. Sure, he was cute, but he seemed kind of... oh, what was the word? Dangerous. Yeah, that's it.

She realized that the Saiyan in question was missing. The bed was empty and his clothes were gone. Bulma grinned wickedly, recalling some the more interesting parts of that night. Vegeta must have left to go back to his room of hell. Bulma was no fool. Even though he was tough enough to survive 300 Gs, it wouldn't have been pleasant. No wonder he wanted _senzu_, he was probably in agony, though he didn't show it.

"Tch. Stubborn," Bulma muttered. There was such a thing as being _too _proud.

She got off the bed and selected an outfit from her enormous wardrobe. She took a shower, then brushed her teeth and spent a reasonable amount of time combing, blow-drying and styling her hair. Once she'd pulled on her simple long sleeved shirt, short skirt and leggings, fastened her belt and laced up her knee-high boots she headed out the door. It was eleven o'clock in the morning. Bulma was going to hunt down breakfast, she was starving.

She found one of the many cafés that were built into her house. It was actually one of her favorites, right between her room and the garden, so Bulma decided to eat there.

After a delicious meal of fried eggs, toast, hash browns and steaming hot coffee Bulma sat at her table with a newspaper, wondering what to do today. The paper didn't have anything of interest, so Bulma put it aside.

She looked up, and Vegeta was in the doorway. A smile grew on her face at the sight of him. Boyfriend or not, he was incredibly hot. He was wearing the same clothes as last night, and he looked a bit more tired. Yeah, he had been training. Crossing to the counter, Vegeta nodded hello to her. As he was ordering breakfast, Bulma stuffed the paper in her bag and jumped up from her chair.

"Hey, Vegeta!" she said, running over to him. "Hi!" she grabbed his hand in both of hers. "How are you doing?" he brushed her away instantly.

"I'm fine. What is it?" Bulma stared at him, a bit confused. Um, hello? Last night, remember? She didn't say that, of course. Bulma had a bit more taste than that.

"Nothing. I was just making conversation," he tilted his head to the side, examining her and not speaking. Bulma was starting to get a bad feeling about this. Then Vegeta snapped his fingers and pointed at her.

"Oh, sorry, I see. You think that because of last night, we're friends now. Is that it?" Bulma's stomach sank in disappointment. This was not a good sign.

"What do you mean? You're saying that we're not?" he narrowed his eyes.

"Of course we aren't. I am not a sentimental worm like Kakarrot. So don't expect anything to have changed," Bulma swallowed, feeling a little nauseous. She didn't like where this was going.

"If it didn't mean anything, then why did you go along with it in the first place?" she asked, trying not to let her voice shake. Her throat was closing up, and she knew that she was getting close to crying. Whether from sadness or frustration, she wasn't sure. What was wrong with her? She _knew _that nothing could come out of this, and yet she still felt disappointed and rejected. That had to change.

"I was merely helping you. You seemed to need attention, so I gave it to you. Don't make me regret it,"

"So what, sex doesn't mean anything to Saiyans?" Bulma said, her voice raising in volume and pitch. She wasn't keeping her cool. Vegeta cringed.

"Do you want the entire building to know? And, to answer your question, no, it doesn't. Oh for god's sake, woman, _calm down_," her hands were clenched into fists and her breathing was getting ragged. She took a few deep breaths to steady herself. When she spoke again, she was more level-headed.

"Why did you... help me in the first place? You never do stuff like that," for a while, Vegeta didn't say anything. His face gave away nothing, it was just an aggravatingly indifferent mask. At last, he broke the silence.

"Well, I would say that I was showing gratitude for all the things you have done for me since I got here, but, to tell you the truth... I was bored." Bulma almost punched him. At the last second, she remembered that this wasn't the Muten Rôshi, this was Vegeta. The only thing hitting him would do would make him angry. Bulma even thought she saw him eyeing her fists, so just to throw him off, she didn't do anything.

"Okay," she said lightly. He looked at her in mild surprise.

"Oh, that's all?" Bulma's eyes darkened with anger and she clenched her teeth.

"Yeah." she stared at him coldly. "See you later, you big _jerk!_" she pushed past him, stomping out the café.

Once she was out of sight, Bulma closed her eyes and clenched her hands into fists. How things can change. Was it really less than a day since she had spotted Vegeta from her room? It felt like it was in the distant past by now. She needed to escape. But where? Her bedroom and the garden, where she normally hid, were tainted with his presence.

"Damn him," Bulma muttered under her breath. Why couldn't he have just pushed her away? Things would be so much simpler if he had. She would have just gotten up, dusted herself off and continued on. No, she would not have even fallen in the first place. But he didn't, he let her believe that there was something going on between them. He showed her how brilliant and perfect things could be, then basically slammed that door in her face and said, "Nope." How dare he? He was too cocky and disrespectful for his own good.

How does a person become that cruel? Maybe he'd had a terrible childhood, riddled with disease, drugs, child abuse and famine. Bulma snorted at the thought. Yeah, right. That's totally why Vegeta's this evil today. She took her laughter as a good sign, though. That's it, she just needed to snap herself out of this before she started crying.

Why? That was her main question. Why did she care about him so much? Bulma couldn't understand. But there was this nagging feeling that kept bothering her, that there was more to Vegeta than this. That he only acted this because of his pride. That he was actually very thankful to her for giving him a place to stay and train and feeding him. This was too complicated. Oh, if only people were more like machinery. Then she would know what to do.

She needed something to focus on, something good and time consuming that would keep her sane until she could get past this and move on.

Bulma wandered off, in her father's general direction. Maybe she could help with running Capsule Corp. Anything to take her mind off that blasted Saiyan.

Two Months later

Bulma opened the cardboard box filled with hoi-poi capsules. One by one, she picked them out, examined them and then carefully replaced them in the container.

"Yep. This batch's fine," she called out to a stock boy who was standing by, anxiously waiting for her verdict. They were trying out a new way of shrinking the objects, it was a lot cheaper but potentially unstable. Which was where Bulma came in.

"Thank you, miss," the boy said gratefully, taking the box from her. She did a two-fingered salute and started to leave the room to go her next job.

But one of the capsules had fallen out of the box and Bulma didn't see it until she had stepped on it. Her foot slid out from under her, sending her crashing to the ground, face-first.

"Whoa!" she reflexively put her hands out to protect herself, so they took most of the damage. The main thing that was hurt was her pride.

"Are you okay?" the worker rushed to her side. Bulma sat up, shaky from her tumble.

"Yeah," she rubbed her knee, then winced. "Ah. I burned my hands on the ground," They were stinging and turning red. "But other that that, I'll live. Sorry, I'll just get out of your way," she got to her feet, careful to make sure that there weren't any more stray capsules.

Instead of reporting to her father, Bulma went to her room. She had some cream there that would be good for the friction burns on her hands.

Bulma kicked her way to the bathroom and got to the cabinet above the sink. She gingerly opened the door with her fingertips and searched for the jar of ointment. Her eyes landed on a box of tampons. She froze, her brain simultaneously putting two and two together and trying to resist where this was going. How long had it been since she had last gotten her period? Too long. And that night with Vegeta... the night she had finally succeeded in getting over, they hadn't used protection. No. No, this was not happening to her.

Bulma clutched the sink, her hands long forgotten. She felt like throwing up. Was it from horror? Or was it... morning sickness? She slowly sank to the ground, the cool tiles of the floor soothing her. Bulma was pregnant. Somehow. She knew that she didn't need a test for confirmation, could feel it in her bones.

So now what should she do?


	5. Denouement

_**Final chapter! It's been awesome writing this story, I can't say that enough. I'm personally really proud of this, and I hope you enjoy it. I have a surprise, but I'll tell you that after the chapter. Hint: It's completely original, I don't think that anyone has ever done this before. But first, the chapter!**_

Chapter Five

Bulma burst through the doors of her mother's private garden. She was there, just as Bulma knew she would be, watering some sort of potted plant.

"Motherrrr," Bulma cried, flying to her and throwing her arms around her neck.

"What is it, darling?" Bulma's mom, though startled, was concerned about her daughter. Just this small gesture of kindness brought tears to Bulma's eyes.

"I'm in trouble," she said. She paused for a long time, trying to work up the courage to say it. "... I think that I'm pregnant." her mother gasped.

"Oh dear! That is bad news. Well, I suppose it all depends on how you look at it," Bulma sighed in relief. Her mother had already helped her. Yes, if she changed her perspective a little bit, things already seemed more manageable. She had always planned on having children, why not now? "Speaking of which, do I look like a grandmother to you?" Bulma rolled her eyes.

"I think that's beside the point, mom," she said. "Should I keep it? The baby, I mean," her mother shrugged.

"It's really up to you. I would love to have a grandkid. Who's the father? Do you know?" Bulma put her hands on her hips.

"What's that supposed to mean?! I haven't been sleeping around, you know!" she cleared her throat. "Um, the father. Right... it's Vegeta," her mother's eyes lit up.

"Oh! The one who got your father to build that heavy gravity room. Bit short for you, isn't he?" Bulma blushed.

"Mom! He got taller. Please, can we talk about something else?" her mother raised her hands in defence.

"I was only mentioning, sweetheart. Does he know?" Bulma shook her head. "There's really nothing I can help you with, dear. You're an adult, you can make your own choices. But if you ever need me to babysit, I'm available," she patted her daughter on the arm. "Don't worry, I know that your decision will be the best one for you," Bulma nodded.

"Okay. Thanks, mom," she stood up and walked off, lost in thought.

After strolling through the halls of her house, Bulma decided what to do about this whole baby situation.

Firstly, she would not get an abortion. She didn't really like the idea of killing an innocent fetus, plus this was an opportunity to become a mother, so why not take it? Secondly, she would not tell Vegeta, but if he brought it up, she wouldn't deny it. Once the baby was born, she would show it to him. And thirdly, she would not harbour any lasting feelings of resentment towards the Saiyan. Bulma didn't know why this was, but she had a strange feeling that she hadn't seen all of his sides. Sometimes, Bulma would run into Vegeta when he was on one of his infrequent trips out of the room to stock up on food. They might say hello, or just walk past each other without making eye-contact. The crazy thing was, they had more of a relationship than they did pre-sex. Though Bulma supposed that was because it would be tough for things to get worse than they were before.

Even after all that had happened, at the end of the day, Bulma loved Vegeta.

Eight months later

Bulma lay back in the hospital bed, completely drained.

She had just finished an incredibly intense nine hour labour and the doctor was measuring and weighing her baby. She had only gotten a brief glimpse -enough to know that it was a boy and had blond hair- before he was whisked away from her. Bulma didn't really like that, but she was willing to let them do their stuff. She knew that it was important to make sure that the baby was healthy. But still, after carrying him inside her body for nine months, Bulma wanted to get to know him.

The door to her room opened and a nurse stepped in, holding a bundle of blankets with a head on top.

"Here he is," she said softly, handing the baby to Bulma's outstretched hands. She cradled the small infant, taking in its looks. "He's six pounds," the nurse continued, "Forty five centimetres long. I'll leave you two alone," she left, closing the door gently behind her. Bulma had barely paid attention to what the nurse was saying, she was too transfixed by the being in her arms.

His feathery hair was so light that at first glance it didn't look like he had any. His expression almost seemed to be a miniature version of his father's scowl, but less harsh. Bulma could tell that her baby's face just went that way. Idly, Bulma wondered what Vegeta had looked like at this age. He wouldn't have been blond, she was pretty sure.

Her son's green eyes were wide open as he gazed back at her, completely silent. It was actually creeping Bulma out a bit. She thought that babies were supposed to cry when they were born. He did look kind of frightened, but other than that he seemed fine.

"It's okay," Bulma soothed, stroking the soft down on his head, "You're safe with me. My name's Bulma. I'm your mom," she didn't know why she was explaining things to him. Bulma had always thought it silly and demeaning to talk to babies, but there was a certain gleam in her son's eyes, something that suggested he was more aware of what was going on around him than other babies. Bulma didn't think he understood any of it, but he was aware. Not surprising, considering Bulma's own I.Q. level. And Vegeta- she didn't know what kind of intelligence he had, but he definitely had something. Something cold, perceptive, cunning. Like a fox or a snake.

"Don't worry," she told her baby, "I'll help you figure out the world," he stared up at her, his mouth forming a little "o". He was hanging on her every word. "You need a name, don't you? Hmm..." she got distracted when he started making slurping sounds. He frowned.

"Oh geez!" Bulma exclaimed, realizing that he was hungry. "Sorry! You're just so quiet," she opened her hospital gown and tried to nurse him.

It went very well, and Bulma got the feeling that she was the one who didn't know what she was doing. Funny. She had read that some babies had trouble learning to feed. This one was special, Bulma knew. And he wasn't just biased-mother special, he was honest-to-god unusual. Which made sense, considering his heritage.

Though he wasn't the most attractive baby Bulma had ever seen, she was already started to feel fond of him. He was hers.

Is this was being a mother was going to be like? If so, then Bulma would be very happy. The pain of labour was definitely worth it. Really, it wasn't as big a deal as everyone made it out to be. Bulma might even be willing to consider having another child. Not with Vegeta, of course. He'd never agree. But that didn't mean that Bulma didn't want it, she just had such low expectations of them even becoming friends that more kids weren't an option.

Actually, over the past while, they had become friends of a sort. No, not friends. Acquaintances was a better word. Sometimes, if they happened to be eating lunch at the same time, they would sit at a table together. They didn't talk or anything, but there was an air of companionship. Bulma felt like saying anything would break the spell, so she didn't speak. Vegeta stayed silent for his own reasons.

These meetings had been happening once a month or so, so he had seen Bulma with her protruding stomach. But he didn't say anything, didn't even look. However, Bulma could tell that he knew.

"Is it okay to remain nameless for a few days, honey?" Bulma asked her son. "I need to talk to someone about it before I decide on anything," the infant said nothing. "I'll take that to mean yes," Bulma laughed. "I can't wait for you to start talking,"

A day passed, and Bulma got to know her son while waiting to be released from the hospital. Though they had visited her separately soon after she gave birth, when she walked out the doors her mother and father stood on the sidewalk cheering and clapping. Bulma couldn't decide whether to be flattered or embarrassed, so she settled on delighted with a modest blush. She noted the absence of Vegeta, then realized that she had forgotten to tell him. He didn't know that he had a son.

On the drive back home, Bulma asked to be dropped off at the building's left wing. Her mother, though slightly puzzled, did as she requested without question. Bulma got out of the floating car and waved to her parents, her son resting calmly in the crook of her arm. She still hadn't seen him cry.

"Okay hon," she said, holding him at eye level, "I'm gonna take you to meet dad. Are you ready?"

She shifted the baby so that she had an arm free and pushed open the door. As she walked down the hallways, she got more and more jittery. She was going to talk to Vegeta for the first time since... since the the morning he had single-handedly broken her heart. But this time she wasn't alone.

Bulma came to the door, which suddenly looked a lot more imposing than before, and knocked. She waited for a long time. Just when she was about to knock again, and louder, a muffled voice said, "Come in". Bulma tried the door, but it was locked. So he knew who it was. She fumbled around in her pocket for her keys. She swiped the card through the slot and the door clicked open.

Vegeta was lying face-down on the ground, though visibly breathing.

"Hey Vegeta," Bulma said softly, "There's someone you should meet," he rolled over onto his back.

"I suppose you want me to turn off the heavy gravity," he said tonelessly.

"Yeah," she said. Sighing, he heaved himself to his feet and pressed the right buttons on the keyboard. Bulma waiting a few seconds, then stepped inside. She held out the baby to Vegeta. "I was thinking of naming him Trunks. How does that sound to you?" he stared almost uncomprehendingly at the infant, who looked back at him, unfazed.

"Why are you asking me?" he said, blankly. Somehow, Bulma knew that he was frustrated about something. Rolling her eyes, she knew that she had to be a bit careful about what she said.

"Because he's your son too, silly! It's only fair," she nodded at the child. "Now, are you gonna take him, or what?" Vegeta crossed his arms.

"No. I see no reason to touch this brat," he paused, "...Trunks is fine," he said, changing topics effortlessly. Bulma nodded.

"Good!" there was an awkward silence. "Well," she said at last.

"Yes," Vegeta agreed.

"I guess I'd better get going, then," she said. "Bye, Vegeta,"

"Goodbye Bulma," and she walked out the door. As it slid closed behind her, she stood there, holding Trunks to her heart, trying to think. Finally, her shoulders slumped as if a great burden had been lifted off them. She would stop waiting for him. If he came to her, she would be there, but she would not be holding her breath. Whatever he does is his business. He could waste away in that godforsaken room and she wouldn't interfere. Because now, now she had her own little piece of him.

Bulma turned her back to the door and walked away.

OoO

Vegeta slammed his fist against the wall as hard as he could, though weakened by the insane gravity. He hadn't eaten a _senzu _bean in weeks, and he was running close to empty on energy. Bulma and his son had slipped from his mind the second she had left the room. He had more pressing problems to solve at the moment.

That's what his conscious thought. His subconscious, however, was affected by their visit. It was frustrated. Everyone was constantly changing around him, getting more powerful, having children, while he stayed the same. Something had to be done about that.

What was wrong with him? It was bad enough that Kakarrot was able to become a Super Saiyan years ago, but he, Vegeta, wasn't able to accomplish it himself, even training under three times the weight. Why? How had this happened? He out-classed Kakarrot, in both rank and power. Or at least he had. Now, with all the other Saiyans dead, status meant nothing, and, as much as he resented it, the swine had more power than him.

Rage coursed through his veins, travelling through his body, empowering him. He clenched his hands into fists, wanting to kill Kakarrot so badly it hurt, to destroy everything he held dear before his eyes, but he couldn't... he was too weak...

"RRAAAARGH!" Vegeta screamed, every single muscle in his body rigid and tense. He let what meagre _chi _he had left flow through him, the floor trembling beneath his feet. He threw his arms out, his head felt like it was about to burst with anger and hatred and vengeance, there was a golden glow at the corners of his vision...

He must have blacked out for an instant, because everything went dark and when Vegeta awoke he was on the ground. He felt very strange, something had happened...

OoO

Out in the empty hallway, Bulma and Trunks long gone, the building stopped shaking and everything was deathly silent. This silence lasted for about ten seconds, long enough that, were there anyone there, they would feel uneasy.

Then a sound penetrated the quiet air, cold, heartless and triumphant laughter. It rang out, bounced against the walls and echoed down the hall. Nobody came, for it was heard by no one. Which was just as well, because it was not intended for anyone's ears.

It lasted a long, long time.

**END**

_**And there you have it. Please tell me what you thought of the series, I'd love to hear your feedback.**_

_**Also, the surprise! I have made a sequel! Yes, it's now published. As of June 10th, only the first chapter is up, but update time will be weekly on Tuesdays, as usual.**_

_**Again, I'm amazed at how many people have seen this story. I treasure every single notification I get from FanFiction. Thanks so much, everyone! And see you on the other side!**_


End file.
